Michael Graves Honored By AIA

Congratulations are in order for Michael Graves. The architect, whose 50 years in practice were recently honored with a sweeping retrospective in his home state of New Jersey, has a new feather in his cap: a 2014 Presidential Citation from the American Institute of Architects. The award, presented annually, is reserved for the most outstanding contributors to national architecture, a group of which Graves—who has conceived more than 350 buildings and 2,000 product designs over the course of his career—is most certainly a part. Perhaps AIA president Helene Combs Dreiling described the architect’s oeuvre best: “His is an art that enlists joy in the making, and joy within those caught in the sunny orbit of his imagination.”

We sat down with Michael Graves to discuss his extraordinary 50-year career and what advice he has for young architects.